The crisis in the construction sector is felt by its immediate suppliers and the cement industry is feeling the pinch. However every cloud has a silver lining, at least for the big boys which may come out of this downturn stronger than ever. But this will be at the cost of the smaller companies which could go out of business.
Others will be forced to seek consolidation with larger companies. The end result will be a lot fewer cement companies by the time the downturn is over.
Andrzej Balcerek, head of the cement producers association SPCiW says that despite the crisis, competition is fierce although no moves are evident on the capital markets. He does not believe that all will survive the downturn and forecasts changes in ownership.
The head of the SPCiW does not want to make any predictions on when things will start to get better. International concerns such as Lafarge, Heidelberg Cement and CRH have heavily invested in this country and would now like to see some kind of a return on their cash before spending more. In the opinion of Andrzej Balcerek that is not likely to happen within the next two years.